This study evaluates the hydrologic response of restoration of a montane meadow by removal of encroached Pinus contorta and thinning of the adjacent forest. It is now a follow-up with four years of post-restoration data, on a previous analysis of a h...
This study examines the hydrologic response of a montane meadow the first winter following restoration by removal of encroached conifers. Hydrologic change was evaluated through statistical comparison of soil moisture and water table depths between t...
The degradation of alpine meadows on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has seriously affected the structure and productivity of grassland communities. In this experiment, a sample area was set up in Keqihetan of Zexiong Village, Youganning Town, Henan...
Europe is currently experiencing a huge decline in biodiversity, with the greatest reduction observed in plant species associated with grassland areas. There is therefore a need for more appropriate land management practices that do not endanger nati...
The degradation of alpine meadows on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is a major issue affecting both the ecology and the economy. Microorganisms play an important role in soil nutrient cycling and the regulation of ecosystem function. This study aime...
The subalpine grassland ecosystem is sensitive to climatic changes. Previous studies investigated the effects of warming on grassland ecosystems at a single altitude, with little information about the response of subalpine meadows to warming along al...
The still-advancing soil degradation and the related losses of soil organic carbon stocks due to the limited inflow of organic residues in agro-ecosystems encourage more and more soil protection. Establishing meadow ecosystems is one of the key metho...
Meadow soil is a vital ecosystem component and can be influenced by meadow vegetation. Evaluating soil quality in mountain meadows subjected to different levels of tourism disturbance is essential for scientific research, ecological restoration, and...
Subalpine meadow soil is widespread in the steep valleys of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Owing to its unique structure and climatic conditions, rainfall can trigger extensive ecohydrological disaster, characterized by soil disintegration and shallow...
The efficiency and quality of meadows is affected by, among others, the botanical composition of the sward and the frequency of cutting. The research was conducted in 2023–2024 on the experiment established in 2014 on arable land, where 3-speci...
Elevated perches allow songbirds to better transmit their songs and increase the visibility of territorial displays, but there is a cost: increased predation risk. To investigate how grassland birds evaluate these tradeoffs, we placed artificial perc...
Patchiness is known to affect soil water and soil temperature, and may trigger or accelerate alpine meadow degradation. However, there is a lack of direct evidence concerning the role of the size and type of patches on soil conditions. Here, we estim...
Artificial cultivation had been applied to recover the meadow suffering from serious degradation in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Studies focusing only on the changes in vegetation, soil and microbes along the meadow degradation were insufficient,...
Grassland degradation poses a significant challenge to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Effective monitoring of grassland degradation is essential for ecological restoration. Hyperspectral...
Alpine meadow and alpine steppe are the two most widely distributed nonzonal vegetation types in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the context of global climate change, the differences in spatial-temporal variation trends and their responses to climate c...
The progress of dissimilatory iron(III) reduction is widespread in natural environments, particularly in anoxic habitats; in fact, wetland ecosystems are considered as “hotspots” of dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction. In this study, we condu...
The accurate identification of different restoration stages of degraded alpine meadow patches is essential to effectively curb the deterioration trend of ‘Heitutan’ (areas of severely degraded alpine meadows in western China). In this stu...
In the meandering riverbank of the Upper Yellow River (UYR), the native alpine swamp meadow (AS) has continuously degenerated into an alpine meadow (AM) due to climate change and intensified grazing. Its implication on river morphology is still not w...
Many invasive plant species use interactions with their anthropic environment as a propagation factor and benefit from climate changes, which have become accentuated in the last decade. The way such species interact with climate changes, as well as t...
Soil moisture is one of the most critical soil components for sustained plant growth and grassland management. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are gradually replacing manual labor in various aspects of grassland management. However, their potential f...
One of the challenges of managing grasslands sustainably is the conflict between the different ecosystem services they provide. This is especially evident in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) region, where fragile alpine ecosystems make balancing the...
Alpine swamp meadow on the Tibetan Plateau is among the most sensitive areas to climate change. Accurate quantification of the GPP in alpine swamp meadow can benefit our understanding of the global carbon cycle. The 8-day MODerate resolution Imaging...
Alpine meadows are vital ecosystems on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, significantly contributing to water conservation and climate regulation. This study examines the energy flux patterns and their driving factors in the alpine meadows of the Qilia...
As a main restoration measure to address degraded grasslands, the installation of fences is often accompanied by accumulation of organic litter. This accumulated litter is a layer of physical moisture which intercepts rainfall and may inhibit plant g...
The belowground bud bank plays an important role in plant communities succession and maintenance. In order to understand the response of the bud bank to the sod layer moisture, we investigated the bud bank distribution, size, and composition of six d...
Soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions are vital intrinsic indicators of SOC stability, and soil fungi are the key drivers of soil carbon cycling. However, variations in SOC fractions along an elevational gradient in mountain meadows and the role of the...
This study quantifies the transpiration of encroached lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. murryana (Grev. & Balf.) Engelm.) in a montane meadow using pre-restoration sap-flow measurements. Lodgepole pine transpiration and its response to environm...
Water meadows in river valleys are a source of very valuable forage. Due to their specificity, an appropriate approach to water management is required. This study assessed the impact of the reclamation of a traditional gravity irrigation system, aime...
Understanding how plant community characteristics and soil properties vary along altitudinal gradients is essential for ecosystem conservation, restoration, and for predicting ecosystem responses to global environmental change. This study investigate...
Alpine meadow ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to climate change and serve an essential function in terrestrial carbon sinks. Accurately estimating their gross primary productivity (GPP) is essential for understanding the global carbon cycle. Sola...
The absence of traditional management in grasslands is responsible for the consequent changes in plant community species composition and diversity of this habitat in Europe. The common reason for these changes is the spread of expansive native specie...
Alpine meadow ecosystem is among the highest soil carbon density and the most sensitive ecosystem to climate change. Partitioning autotrophic (Ra) and heterotrophic components (Rm) of ecosystem respiration (Re) is critical to evaluating climate chang...
The soil moisture at the medium spatial scale is strongly desired in the context of satellite remote sensing data validation. The use of a ground-installed passive L-band radiometer ELBARA at the Bubnów-Sęków test site in the east...
In order to investigate the current pollution status and distribution characteristics of soil microplastics (MPs) in Bayinbuluk alpine swamp meadow, soil samples of different depths were collected from the study area. The physicochemical properties o...
Surface soil moisture (SSM) is a key limiting factor for vegetation growth in alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Patches with various sizes and types may cause the redistribution of SSM by changing soil hydrological processes, and th...
Species composition and biomass are two important indicators in assessing the effects of restoration measures of degraded grasslands. In this paper, we present a field study on the temporal changes in plant community characteristics, species diversit...
Grasshoppers mainly threaten natural grassland vegetation and crops. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the relationship between environmental factors and grasshopper occurrence. This paper studies the spatial distribution and key f...
The responses of soil nitrogen component dynamics and enzyme activities to vegetation degradation in wet meadows ecosystems remain unclear. This study employed a combination of field surveys and laboratory experiments to investigate soil nitrogen com...
The outer banks of meadow-type meandering river bends in the source zone of the Yellow River are especially vulnerable to bank failure. This study aims to understand how vegetation affects bank stability and the mechanism of bank failure, especially...
The Nanwenghe Nature Reserve is located in the Daxing’anling forest region, which is abundant meadow resource which is prone to fire in fire season every year. In this paper, the change in the soil chemical properties of burned stands was empha...
19 November 2018
Inappropriate grazing management is one of the most common causes of grassland degradation, and thus, an assessment of soil properties under different grazing intensities is critical for understanding its effects on ecosystem nutrient cycling and for...
(1) Background: The most important management measure and utilization method for grassland is grazing. The suitable beginning period of spring rest grazing in the alpine meadow was selected to provide a theoretical basis for more scientific managemen...
This study aimed to understand the response of vegetation community characteristics in the degraded alpine meadow of the Source Zone of the Yellow River to exclosure of various lengths. Artificial fences were erected to prevent livestock grazing and...
Kobresia humilis, an alpine meadow-constructive species, has significant ecological and economic importance on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Understanding the diversity and structure of the rhizosphere microbiota associated with K. humilis...
Meadow grasslands are characterized by high primary productivity and are an important ecological barrier against sandstorms and desertification in northern China. The dynamic changes in reserves of soil organic carbon stocks (SOCSs), total nitrogen (...
Soil respiration (Rs) in high-altitude areas are normally sensitive to varying climatic conditions. The objective of this research was mainly to explore temporal variations in Rs rates and the corresponding controlling factors for the establishment o...
Soil moisture dynamics play an active role in ecological and hydrological processes. Although the variation of the soil water moisture of multiple ecosystems have been well-documented, few studies have focused on soil hydrological properties by using...
The shear strength (particularly soil cohesion) of rooted soil is an important parameter that reflects the true erodibility of meadows, particularly in meadows experiencing different degrees of degradation, ranging from undegraded (UD) through to lig...
The deficiency of pollen grains for ovule fertilization can be the main factor limiting plant reproduction and fitness. Because of the ongoing global changes, such as biodiversity loss and landscape fragmentation, a better knowledge of the prevalence...
A community functional structure may respond to environmental changes such as nitrogen (N) enrichment by altering intraspecific and interspecific trait variations. However, the relative contributions of both components in determining the community re...
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